Mucormycoses are angioinvasive fungal infections caused by mucormycetes, or fungi of the order Mucorales. Mucormycosis occurs in immunocompromised patients and is characterized by rapid disease progression, poor prognosis, and high mortality. Prompt diagnosis of mucormycosis improves patient outcomes and survival. Laboratory diagnostics rely on traditional microbiological techniques such as direct microscopy, fungal cultures, and histopathology, which have limited sensitivity and require experienced laboratory personnel. Most importantly, results are typically obtained only after several days of incubation. The aim of the master's thesis was to explore the potential for improving the conventional diagnostic approach to mucormycetous molds with a molecular method of real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the MucorGenius® Multiplex Real-Time PCR kit, and to assess the sensitivity and specificity of this method. The study included 9 ascomycetous and 11 mucormycetous molds. We prepared a sporangiophore suspension of each mold with an optical density equivalent to the 0.5 McFarland standard, and for the mucormycetous molds, we made dilutions from 101 to 107. DNA was isolated from the initial suspension and all subsequent dilutions (in the case of mucormycetous molds) and subjected to real-time multiplex PCR using the MucorGenius® kit. Concurrently, for quantification purposes, each dilution of mucormycetous molds was inoculated onto Sabouraud's medium to determine the concentration (CFU/ml). For mucormycetous mold species Rhizopus microsporus, Mucor circinelloides, and Lichtheimia corymbifera, real-time multiplex PCR was repeated 12 times for the lowest, medium, and highest dilutions of each species that still yielded a positive result. Statistical analysis revealed that the analytical sensitivity of real-time multiplex PCR using the MucorGenius® kit is 91.7%, and the analytical specificity is 100%. We believe that real-time multiplex PCR using MucorGenius® could be suitable for supplementing classical diagnostics.
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